New tactile model for Open House Roma's STRAordinario project

Rome, July 1st, 2025

For the second year, Accademia Italiana is collaborating with Open House Roma on the STRAordinario project. This initiative focuses on inclusivity, offering a multisensory experience of architecture to make beauty a truly universal heritage.

Through the active involvement of people with disabilities, the program provides tactile tours, multisensory pathways, activities for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and guided tours in LIS (Italian Sign Language). The goal is to break down barriers that often create a disconnect from creative works and their creators.

In this context, four third-year students from the Interior and Product Design course—Riccardo Trabucco, Alessia Cangianelli, Camilla Anzalone, and Aksharan Antonybaskar—under the guidance of Modeling professor Andrea Nannetti, worked on a wooden tactile model of the Casa Madre dei Mutilati ed Invalidi di Guerra, a Roman palace built after World War I.

The model, representing a horizontal section of the palace at a 1:100 scale, was placed inside the building and used for guided tours for visually impaired individuals. It offered them the opportunity to explore the internal structure and material details of the entire construction.